Branford's Lobster Shack Is Queuing Up Hot Lobster Rolls

Arlene Crismale, owner of Lobster Shack in Branford, holds a tray with a lobster roll and New England clam chowder.

Arlene Crismale, owner of Lobster Shack in Branford, holds a tray with a lobster roll and New England clam chowder. (Nick Caito / Special to New Haven Living)

FRANK COHEN

We were there for the 2014 opening of the Lobster Shack in Branford's Birbarie Marina, queuing up with the locals for hot lobster rolls and other mostly marine delicacies. The immensely popular seasonal business is open five months of the year, running from the Ides of May until Columbus Day.

The Lobster Shack is owned by Nick and Arlene Crismale. It was the the Crismales' dream to open a seasonal seafood shack where they could offer the fresh bounty of the sea simply prepared, as they have enjoyed it themselves for years. Captain Nick, as some call him, is a longtime lobsterman and clam fisherman. As President of the Connecticut Commercial Lobsterman Association, Nick has been the spokesman for the troubled Connecticut lobster fishing industry, a position in which he had notable legislative success, including the banning of certain pesticides designed to kill mosquito larvae that many believe have caused the drastic decline in the lobster population, but he has also drawn considerable flack.

All of that is behind the Crismales as they throw open their windows to their customers and take their first orders. The infectious smiles of Arlene and her staff draw return smiles and banter. Hot buttery lobster rolls, grilled clams, New England and Rhode Island clam chowders, Hummel hot dogs, sausage pepper and onion subs, gelatos and other treats are carried off by pleased customers, some back to their cars, homes or offices but most to a picnic table overlooking the Branford River.

Chowing down on my own lobster roll, cup of loaded creamy New England clam chowder, bag of Deep River Snacks sea salt and vinegar potato chips and a homemade chocolate chip cookie, I plot my return with my younger daughter by sea kayak. High tide is best, to avoid the Branford River's tidal muck. But if you land nearer the Indian Neck Avenue Bridge, the tide shouldn't really matter. You can eat with the other landlubbers and then, like Nick, put back out to sea.

Located in the Birbarie Marina, 7 Indian Neck Ave., Branford, 203-483-8414, lobstershackct.com